URGENT NEEDS IN EMERGENCY RELIEF AND REHABILITATION ASSISTANCE
- Georgia stricken by major earthquake
- Rapid assessment undertaken by the UN Disaster Management Team (DMT) and the Georgian Government
- Emergency response provided to cover immediate needs with in-country resources
- Emergency appeal submitted to the donor community
- EMERGENCY OVERVIEW AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Earthquake destroyed thousands of building, including IDP collective centres
An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale and MSK 6-7 intensity occurred in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on Thursday 25 April 2002. Thousands of buildings, mainly in the older part of the city were seriously damaged or completely destroyed. Among the damaged and destroyed buildings were some of the collective centres where many internally displaced people lived.
Hundreds of households are currently without homes or live in dwellings considered dangerous.
A special Governmental Commission was quickly formed which identified the following priorities:
- emergency aid and supplies, mainly for the families displaced by the disaster;
- provision of temporary accommodation for those needing evacuation; and
- rapid assessment of damage to buildings and infrastructure.
A limited number of beds, food, kitchen utensils and other emergency relief items have been provided by the State Department of Border Guards of Georgia. Mobile teams of physicians have been assigned to the relocation sites, providing free medical assistance and basic medicines.
For the collective centres where many of those displaced by earthquake damage have been relocated (both buildings and tents), the member organizations of the Georgia DMT (Disaster Management Team) are filling the gaps in relief assistance.
The DMT is chaired by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, and includes relevant UN agencies, international NGOs and donor governments with special interest in disaster preparedness and response.
As of 1 May 2002 evaluation of 2,330 buildings, 1,144 were recorded to have significant structural damage, 464 to have major or complete damage, 116 buildings having minor damage and the remaining 116 buildings insignificant damage caused by the earthquake. Out of 120 assessed school and kindergarten buildings, 27 schools and 3 kindergartens were closed. Of inspected 50 hospitals and policlinics 31 and 10 respectively were damaged. There are five IDP collective centres that are damaged beyond repair, and 14 more are significantly damaged Some relief and financial assistance has been received from the German, Turkish, Russia and Israeli governments.
2. UNICEF RESPONSE: ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONSTRAINTS
UNICEF in collaboration with the DMT member agencies immediately conducted a rapid assessment of the relocation sites in order to identify the urgent relief assistance needs of those affected.
An assessment of several field sites has been done where approximately 362 families (about 1,122 people) have been relocated. Urgent relief needs, such as food, tents, beds, linen/blankets, clothes, hygienic kits, were identified. Fortunately, DMT-member agencies were able to cover most of these immediate needs by in-country available resources.
UNICEF started the provision of non-food assistance to those affected at various relocation sites. Non-food assistance included basic hygiene items/supplies and kitchen utensils for the food preparation. UNICEF plans to set up special childcare centres at the targeted collective sites. The centres will provide education, health, childcare and psychosocial assistance to the people living in these sites.
The Disaster Management Team, established in December 2001 consists of relevant UN agencies, international NGOs and the ICRC and the Georgian Government as observers. It is chaired by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and its primary purpose is to prepare for and facilitate a prompt, effective and concerted country-level response by the UN system and member international entities in the event of a disaster or emergency. The Team facilitates co-ordination of international assistance to the receiving government in respect to emergency response, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and disaster mitigation.
After the earthquake in Tbilisi on 25 April, the DMT was mobilized and emergency relief aid was provided to victims, including IDPs, to complement the efforts of the Government.
UNICEF and the DMT are currently assessing new field sites where more affected households are being moved. It is envisaged that basic relief needs would again be covered by local resources although there may be a need for additional donor resources to cover all potential requirements.
3. APPEAL REQUIREMENTS AND RECEIPTS
The DMT and the Government of Georgia prepared an appeal for prioritized emergency relief and rehabilitation. It estimates that the emergency rehabilitation needs for repairing or rebuilding key public infrastructure (such as schools) and the most dangerously damaged dwellings will cost US$ 52 million.
The Government requests further technical assistance from donors to fully implement the programmes for immediate emergency rehabilitation, as well as for the longer-term rehabilitation needs. In this context, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expert has arrived this week to collaborate with the Georgian specialists and authorities on these concerns.
The most immediate relief assistance needs for the earthquake have been covered by UNICEF from existing, in-country resources.
In order to enable the UNICEF country office to respond to the larger emergency needs, a non-CAP country appeal was prepared and submitted in December 2001. None of this appeal has been funded to date.
Financial Summary of the appeal requirements submitted in December 2001.
|
Table 1: 2002 APPEAL
REQUIREMENTS
AS OF 30 APRIL 2002 | |
|
Sector
|
Target (US$)
|
| Health |
2,166,000
|
| HIV/AIDS Prevention |
575,000
|
| Child Protection |
996,000
|
| Education |
1,600,000
|
| CAP Total |
5,337,000
|
Details of the Georgia Emergency Programme can be obtained from:
Boris Tolstopiatov
UNICEF Caucasus Area Office
Georgia
Tel: + 995 32 232388/251130
Fax: + 995 32 251236
E-mail: btolstopiatov@unicef.org
David Bassiouni
UNICEF EMOPS
Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 909 55 03
Fax: + 41 22 909 59 02
Email: dbassiouni@unicef.org
Dan Rohrmann
UNICEF PFO
New York
Tel: + 1 212 326 7009
Fax: + 1 212 326 71 65
Email: drohrmann@unicef.org
UNICEF EMERGENCY UPDATES are available at http://www.unicef.org/emerg and http://www.reliefweb.int